Voge is getting into the sports bike game, with the RR500S
The Voge RR500S is a 475cc inline four-cylinder sportsbike that revs to 14,000 rpm and boasts 74 bhp.
A new supersport bike is set to arrive from China, in the form of the handsome little Voge RR500S. The bike will join the burgeoning class of lightweight sportsbike, like the Yamaha R9 and R7, Aprilia RS660, and Kawasaki’s screaming Ninja ZX-4R.
The bike’s centrepiece is a dinky little 475cc inline four-cylinder engine. It features double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder and even has an exhaust valve. The most interesting aspect of the exhaust valve is that, instead of traditional systems, which open automatically when riding hard, this system is operable via a button. It also seems, from roughly translating the blurb on the system, that it isn’t something that is done to increase performance, as normal, and instead is to help prevent excessive noise.
According to Google Translate, the Voge website states: “When attacking the mountains, the high-speed sound awakens the mountains, like the beating of war drums, and the riding atmosphere is full. When returning to the city, close the valve exhaust with one button, return home without disturbing others, showing the knight's demeanour.”
Right you are then.
The rest of the bike seems to be fairly mediocre, with Nissin mid-spec four-pot calipers at the front joined by an aged single-piston stopper at the rear. Front suspension is non-adjustable and, given that no info is given on the Voge website, we’ll assume the rear is adjustable for preload only. ABS and traction control are provided (two-channel only), although reports from China suggest that a more trick version is set to follow, which could benefit from both of those.
Power from the tiddly motor is about what you’d expect for the capacity, with 74 bhp and 34 lb ft of torque. While those numbers don’t sound like much, they do put it on a par with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4R. The Voge actually makes a bit more torque than the Kawasaki, which would probably be handy on the road. It is, though, a bit heavier than the Kwak, tipping the scales at 198kg as opposed to the ZX-4R’s 189kg.
One area where the competition will be unlikely to match the new Chinese challenger is the price, with Voge flogging the new bike in its native China for between £3,000 and £3,500, depending on colour and spec.
Find the latest motorcycle news on Visordown.com.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
